


The Little Squash-Saur

by Brushtale



Series: Case & Princess [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Pokemon Formes, Autumn, Bulbasaur is bapy, Fluff, Gen, October Prompt Challenge, Pokemon Variants, Pumpkins, Southernisms, Yee-haw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:48:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26841676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brushtale/pseuds/Brushtale
Summary: A Pokémon Trainer goes to adopt a new partner and the munchkin of the litter steals his heart.Features Pokémon subspecies/variants/forms. Pure fluffy goodness, no angst. Lots of Bulbasaur babies being cute, and brief cameos from Houndour and Swablu. Based off the October prompt "Gourd."
Series: Case & Princess [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1958995
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	The Little Squash-Saur

Pokémon subspecies were not well-known or talked about, but they existed, of course. Varying coat patterns and body types came into being wherever nature called for an adaptation, some forms now famous for being exclusive in certain regions. But sometimes, humans saw a mutation, and just ran with it. As Case climbed the steps to the Pokémon Nursery, he saw plenty of evidence of this.

"Oh, good mernin," a pig-tailed receptionist greeted.

"Morning." Case flashed a smile. "We...spoke on the phone earlier. About a Bulbasaur?"

The young woman snapped her fingers. "Right! I remember you, plain as day! There's no one back there lookin' at 'em right now, so you picked the perfect time. Just follow me!"

Case shadowed his guide out a back door, and into rows of small, sunny pastures. The wooden fences for each one was just high enough to keep in the type of Pokémon they contained, and some were equipped with a little extra. A fire extinguisher was clipped to the chainlink containing curly-tailed Houndours, and sturdy gloves were available for handling storm-cloud Swablus. But Case walked to the end of the line, where a wide space was reserved for a burgeoning young family.

Bulbasaurs didn't all carry flower bulbs on their backs. Some carried cabbages, others melons. But waddling around at Case's feet, playing with one another, were four gourd-bearing pups. Their bodies were a paler green—almost shiny by a normal saur's standards—and pumpkins of varying sizes and colors bobbed with them as they ran on toddler legs. One—the leader of the adventuring pack, with a patch of darker green over one eye—had the biggest and orangest pumpkin of all. A smaller saur with a white pumpkin—one that insisted on sprouting curly vines—charged headlong after him, in spite of tripping several times on its newfound feet. A third with a yellowy pumpkin stopped to investigate everything along the way before following its siblings with gusto. But one— _one_ —toddled along on the most munchkin limbs, with the biggest, dewiest eyes. Its coat was the palest out of all of them, its body the smallest and most disadvantageously proportioned, and a white squash grew tall on its back.

"There were a couple more'a them pumpkins," the receptionist noted, "like the big boy there. Good, red n' orange ones. But a couple'a kids came through earlier and gave 'em a home. We don't keep 'em for long, especially this time'a year."

She nodded across the patch where a pair of Ivysaurs—rust-and-olive-colored, with magnificent, flourishing pumpkins—oversaw their litter, another clutch of eggs already kept snug between them.

"We'll have a few more in a day or two here, if nothin' catches your eye today. But I reckon these three'll be gone by closing time tomorrow."

Case hadn't taken his eyes off the little squash-saur yet.

"Three?" he echoed, half-distracted.

"Mmhm. The pumpkin ones. Best-sellin' gourds we got."

"And what about the littlest one, there? With the squash?"

"Her?" The receptionist tsked. "That's a throwback, that un. I don't see her movin' out very quick. I guess someone mi-"

"I'll take her."

The receptionist swerved in mid-southernism to blink at Case. "You sure there? That's awful fast off the trigger, without even meetin' her."

"Yeah, sorry, I just-" Case shook his head. He couldn't put it into words.

At the receptionist's instructions, he sat down on the grass by the fence and waited until the squash-saur was carried to him. When airborne, her tiny legs tucked up as if she were trying to climb up her keeper to safety, her dewy eyes sending out their best S.O.S.. Case let out a soft laugh, patting his lap for a landing zone. When the little squash was set down, her limbs remained tucked in, and she nearly rolled right off of him.

"Oh my gosh- No, sweetie, it's okay-" He laughed, gently easing her into the grass beside him. There, on a familiar surface, she uncurled. Her puppy-eyed expression didn't leave.

"How's this, sweetheart?" The receptionist knelt down, giving the Bulbasaur a pat on her head. "This young man would sure be tickled to take ya with him. We had a long phone chat earlier, and I'm sure he'd pamper ya right up!"

The squash-saur gave Case her iconic stare, then looked at young woman...then plopped her head as gently as possible on Case's thigh and stayed there, comfy. Case could've screamed.

With great restraint, he only lightly scratched her head instead, watching her eyes get dewier by the second as she soaked up affection, either too polite or too shy to show that she liked it.

"Miss?" Case whispered, looking up. "Could you...?" He pointed at the Bulbasaur on his leg, then back at the main office. "Could you just...draw up some paperwork, please? And bring it out here with a pen? I'll fill out whatever you need and pay here, I promise."

The lady beamed a grin at him. "Coming right up in a jiffy."

Filling out adoption forms was a purely peripheral process, and once the appropriate lines had been filled and pokedollars handed over, Case was offered his choice of Pokeballs for his new partner. Color aesthetics be damned, he chose Luxury. After giving his Bulbasaur a gentle boop on the nose with the Luxury Ball, and then confirming the final shake, he released and scooped her into his arms, careful not to lean her body weight on her squash. Upon realizing she was airborne, she clung to his chest with all four stubby limbs, her eyes at maximum dew.

"Hey, it's okay, I've got you," Case soothed.

He adjusted his arms, ensuring her body was tucked snugly in the crook of his elbow, and that his hands wouldn't slip. With both limbs supporting her, he walked her back to his car, making adjustments each time she scooted towards a better spot. Finally, she was relaxed, both tiny arms splayed out on his chest.

"You haven't said much," Case joked. "If you wanna go back...I'll turn around."

His Bulbasaur thought for a moment, then gently plopped her head on his collar, just like earlier on his leg, staring up with her wide, starry, walnut eyes. She snuggled into his chest, clung close, and gave one tiny nod. It was all he needed.

"Let's go then, Princess. Time to see your new home."


End file.
